Carl Smith – Did We Have to Come This Far to Say Goodbye
Carl Smith, one of the most successful and distinctive country artists to emerge in the 1950’s, died Saturday (Jan. 16, 2010) at his home in Franklin, Tennessee, south of Nashville. He was 82. Carl was a dominate force in country music throughout the 1950s and early 1960s, with 30 Top 10 hits. From his debut chart entry in 1951 through late 1955, he had 21 consecutive Top 10 singles. During his career, Carl scored 53 Top 20 hits, including five that went to No. 1. He specialized in pure honky-tonk and had a talent for singing smooth ballads, but rarely crossed over into the pop audience. Regardless, Carl was one of the most popular and best-known country singers of his era. He topped the charts with such classics as Let’s Live a Little (1951), Let Old Mother Nature Have Her Way (1951), Are You Teasing Me (1952), Hey Joe (1953) Loose Talk (1954), Back Up Buddy (1954), Kisses Dont Lie (1955), There She Goes (1955) and Before I Met You (1956). At age 15, Carl started performing in a band called Kitty Dibble and Her Dude Ranch Ranglers. By age 17, he had learned to play the string bass and spent his summer vacation working at WROL-AM in Knoxville, Tennessee. After graduating from high school, he briefly served in the US Navy. Smith returned to WROL and played string bass for country singers Molly O’Day and Skeets Williamson. WSM radio in Nashville, Tennessee signed Smith to a contract, and he began working for the station and singing at the Grand Ole Opry. Carls easy manner …
This is me performing ‘Whistle down the wind’ by Tina Arena in my heat, I won and made it to the final in 2000 in the last series. I have performed in the industry from a young age including charity events up to the London Paladium and was offered a West End Musical as a result of my performance in Stars in Their Eyes, which with regret I had to turn down. I am looking for new challenges and opportunities to achieve my aspirations of performing in the West, or an opportunity to get a record contract as I write my own songs.
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